The start to UCLA softball’s season has been distinguished by a series of highs and lows. Some games, the Bruins have looked like one of the best teams in the country and others they’ve looked like anything but.
No. 13 UCLA (9-6) opened last week on a strong note, showing well against No. 1 Florida and No. 9 Georgia, but rounded the week by losing in its final two games.
“To be very honest, we’ve just been inconsistent,” said coach Kelly Inouye-Perez. “We’re just trying to find consistency in our game.”
Despite her team’s early-season ups and downs, Inouye-Perez is hopeful that a homecoming this week will help the Bruins regain their footing.
“We have to make a move now,” Inouye-Perez said. “I’m very confident the team will respond.”
Although a return to the friendly confines of Easton Stadium may provide UCLA a level of comfort, the road ahead doesn’t get any easier for the Bruins. The team is set to square off against No. 2 Michigan (12-2).
“We have a tough matchup on Wednesday,” said freshman outfielder Zoe Shaw. “But if we start strong I think the momentum will really carry us moving into the rest of the week and through the season.”
Thus far, UCLA’s strength has been its offense. The Bruins’ team batting average of .347 ranks 27th in the country and is in large part due to the production of senior outfielder Allexis Bennett, senior third baseman Mysha Sataraka and sophomore second baseman Kylee Perez, who each are hitting around or above .500.
“I think our hitting is coming alive,” Shaw said. “We’re definitely executing and having quality at bats.”
However, Michigan’s offense has been equally impressive, if not more so. The Wolverines have the 20th best team batting average in the nation and are sixth in scoring. Senior infielder Sierra Romero, who is currently tied for third in the nation with 26 RBIs and tied for ninth in home runs with six, highlights Michigan’s offensive juggernaut.
In order to slow down Michigan’s offensive machine, UCLA will need to improve its pitching.
The two-woman rotation of sophomore pitchers Selina Ta’amilo and Johanna Grauer has been unpredictable this season. Grauer has struggled all season long with a 5.89 ERA, but even Ta’amilo, who opened the year on a strong note, toiled this past week, posting a 5.46 ERA in her last five games.
“They’ve both been inconsistent, they’ve had great moments and moments where they’ve needed to work on their game,” Inouye-Perez said.
UCLA’s defense will be equally important Wednesday. Michigan puts the ball in play frequently, ranking 30th in the country in hits, while UCLA has been plagued by poor fielding in the early going, making at least one error in five of its six losses.
“We’re not executing and playing defense,” Inouye-Perez said. “So we’ve got to tighten up.”
Meanwhile, UCLA’s offense will look to stay hot against a combination of junior Megan Betsa and graduate student Sara Driesenga, who have split innings in eight of the Wolverine’s first 14 games. Both pitchers have respectable ERAs around 3.00, but Betsa has overpowered batters this season, striking out 11.5 batters per seven innings, good for seventh in the country.
“Michigan’s a great team,” Bennett said. “They’ve got a great pitching staff.”
The matchup against Michigan will be a tall order for the Bruins. UCLA has faced a number of ranked teams to open the season and struggled, going 3-4 against such opponents. Heightened competition aside though, Inouye-Perez said she feels that the Bruins have just plainly failed to obtain consistency. UCLA will try to amend its woes and become a more stable team moving forward.